What is a DAT file?
A file with .dat extension belongs to a generic file format. Usually these are niether encrypted nor binary, but they could be almost anything. Variety of applications are using the DAT files as references to certain operations in their respective program. So we can’t say that a specific software or program is responsible to create DAT files. These files are particularly accessed only by the application that created them.
DAT File Format
The DAT file format is simply a general format which contains any kind of data in a file, usually saved with .dat extension. It may contain data in binary or text format, usually a generic data consists of the information specific to the application it refers to. Most often, you may find them with other configuration files like DLL files. Here we can enlist some famous file types, having files .dat extension:
VCD Video File
VCDs were well known video or multimedia source in the 1990s for distributing movies and home videos before DVDs. Usually the videos files from VCD disc were found with .dat extension.So It stored the actual video data played from the VCD.
Exchange E-mail Attachment
DAT files related to Exchange E-mail Attachment contain formatting information for Rich Text (RTF) messages sent from Microsoft Exchange Server. Usually these files are added to the end of emails when a recipient’s email client does not support RTF messages. These files are usually found like Winmail.dat.
Windows Registry Hive File
NTUSER.DAT is a common registry hive file. The Microsoft Windows registry uses DAT files to store user settings. These DAT files are loaded when a user logs into Windows. It may include account settings, passwords and file associations.
Minecraft Data File
The Minecraft game is using the DAT files to save the information about the player’s inventory, player position, and world information. The DAT files are also used for storing levels, which are small map pieces that are loaded on demand as a player navigates through the world.
Piriform DAT File
The applications such as CCleaner, Speccy, Defraggler, and Recuva are using DAT files for the information about their typical operations.
